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June 4, 2009
1,000 Business Leaders Speak Out in Support of Employee Free Choice
Today, the chorus of voices in support of the Employee Free Choice Act is joined by business leaders who know that workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain is good for them, too.
The new coalition, Business Leaders for a Fair Economy, includes entrepreneurs, employers and leaders of businesses large and small who agree that a strong economy is compatible with the protection of workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain. Indeed, these business leaders agree, workers able to bargain for benefits, wages and economic security are the foundation of an economy that works in the long term...
Click here to view the rest of this article on the AFL-CIO NOW Blog
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Major Academic Study Finds No Union Intimidation from Majority Sign Up
Study analyzed public sector in four states over six year period
(Washington, May 27) Majority sign up does not cause union or employer intimidation, according to a new report released by departments at University of Illinois, Rutgers University, Cornell University, and University of Oregon. Participants analyzed data from public sector workers in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Oregon for six years and found that out of more than 34,000 people who joined unions through majority sign up, a process sometimes referred to as "card check," there was not "a hint" of union or employer intimidation.Click here to view the rest of this article on the AFL-CIO NOW Blog
Click here to view the report
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Forty-seven artists.
Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Tony award winners and nominees.
Sitcom stars, character actors, musicians, comedians and Broadway performers.
All union members.
All support the Employee Free Choice Act and say so in this new video.
People associate actors with fame and glory. The truth is for a long time my union contract was the reason I could support my family. That's why I support the Employee Free Choice Act, because each worker, regardless of their field, deserves the freedom to bargain for a contract, for a better life.
-- Actress Amy BrennemanAs the performers say, this is not a red state issue. This is not a blue state issue. It's a workers' issue.
It's time for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. It's time the economy worked for everyone.
I've belonged to three unions in my life, and every one gave me the freedom to bargain with my co-workers for decent hours, benefits and safe conditions. If all workers don't have the freedom to form unions, I don't see how we can fix our economy.
-- Actor and comedian Jerry StillerWatch the video. Share it with your family and friends. Together, we can make America's economy work for working people.
A special shout out to all the actors, musicians, editors, writers and crew members who made this video possible, including members of the following unions:
- Actors' Equity Association
- American Federation of Musicians
- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)
- Directors Guild of America (DGA)
- International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE)
- Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
- Writers Guild of America, East
- Writers Guild of America, West
Click here for a full list of performers and their bios.
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Corporate Anti-Worker Tactics on the Rise
A landmark study examining workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain shows that the problems the Employee Free Choice Act would address are getting worse.
“No Holds Barred: The Intensification of Employer Opposition to Organizing,” authored by Kate Bronfenbrenner, the director of Cornell University’s School of Industrial Relations, documents a disturbing increase in corporate tactics to interfere with, block and delay workers’ attempts to form unions. Workers who want to form a union all too frequently are subject to harassment, mandatory meetings, threats and even illegal firings.
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Univ. of Ill. Study Finds No Cases of Union Intimidation from Majority Sign Up
Study analyzed Illinois public sector over six year period
(Washington, May 4) Majority sign up does not cause union or employer intimidation, according to a new report released by University of Illinois Professor Robert Bruno. Bruno analyzed data from public sector workers in Illinois for six years and found that out of more than 21,000 people who joined unions through majority sign up, a process sometimes referred to as “card check,” there was not a single proven case of union or employer intimidation.
Click here to read the full press release...
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April 7, 2009: Specter Supported Employee Free Choice Before He Was Against It
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) today repeated his intent on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to block a Senate vote on the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409), despite his past support of the bill. The bill hasn’t changed—so why has Specter flipped?
Compiling a few video clips, we look at Specter’s most recent statements and compare them with what he said in 2005, when he was “delighted” to join Sen. Ted Kennedy, Rep. George Miller and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Click here to read the rest of this news story...
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March 10, 2009: Employee Free Choice Act Introduced in Congress
The U.S. House and Senate are both introducing the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409), launching the legislative battle to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life.
It's a great day for working families and a sign of the change that America voted for last fall. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) are announcing the bill's launch at the U.S. Senate, along with workers whose struggles to form unions illustrate the need to give workers, not bosses, the ability to choose how to form a union, as well as a guarantee of a contract and protection from employer intimidation, coercion and firing.
Click here to send a message to your Representatives urging them to support the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409)!
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Biden to AFL-CIO: Employee Free Choice Act Key to Rebuilding Middle Class
Vice President Joe Biden told the AFL-CIO Executive Council today that returning our economy to health means restoring the basic right to join a union and bargain collectively. And the way to do that is by passing the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409).
He quoted President Obama saying: ‘”I don’t buy the argument that providing workers with collective bargaining rights somehow weakens the economy or worsens the business environment.”
Click here to read more...
Click here to view the article on the AFL-CIO NOW Blog
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Members of the Child Labor Coalition became the latest group to sign on to the Employee Free Choice Act
Click here to read their letter to Congress
Use the box to the left to write to your Congressman reguarding this issue!
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Mobilizing for the Employee Free Choice Act
On the Huffington Post, the AFL-CIO’s Stewart Acuff says that to get past the big-dollar opposition from the corporate interests who created the economic crisis, the campaign to pass the Employee Free Choice Act will need to be a broad, nationwide effort.
Read On...
Click here to read this article at huffingtonpost.com...
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United States: The Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409)
The briefing paper details some of the glaring deficiencies in current US labor law that significantly impair the right of workers to freely choose whether to form a union. It recommends that the US Congress pass the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409) to help remedy these shortcomings and bring US law closer to international standards.
Read On...
Click here to see this on the Human Rights Watch website
Click here for a PDF of the Paper
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The Union Way Up
Why is this recession so deep, and what can be done to reverse it?
Hint: Go back about 50 years, when America's middle class was expanding and the economy was soaring. Paychecks were big enough to allow us to buy all the goods and services we produced. It was a virtuous circle. Good pay meant more purchases, and more purchases meant more jobs...Read On...
Click here to read this story by Robert Reich on the LA Times webstie.
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It's a new year, a new administration, a new Congress - a whole new chance to move forward workers' rights!
On Fox News, Acuff Cuts Through the Spin About Employee Free Choice
Here's a delightful surprise from, of all places, Fox News. When Neil Cavuto interviewed Stewart Acuff, special assistant to the president at the AFL-CIO, about the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409), he was pleasantly surprised to find that, contrary to corporate spin, the Employee Free Choice Act does not take away the secret ballot process.
Read On...
Click here to read this story on the AFL-CIO Blog Site
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New York Times Praises Incoming Secretary of Labor and Employee Free Choice Act
The New York Times threw the full weight of its editorial page behind the incoming Secretary of Labor and speedy passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409). In addition to praising the selection of Hilda Solis, in "The Labor Agenda," The New York Times editorialized that the Employee Free Choice Act is "vital legislation" and "should not be postponed."
Read On...
Click here to read the article online
Click here to read it in PDF format
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National Consumers League Signs Pro-Employee Free Choice Act Letter
The National Consumers League and the consumer groups signed on to a pro-Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409) letter that called the bill "Good for consumers, good for workers, and good for American society."
The letter, co-signed by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, ACORN, Public Citizen, Consumer Action, Consumers for Auto Safety and Reliability, and Alliance for Justice, was sent to every Congressional office and received many assurances that members remained strongly supportive of the bill.
Read On...
Click here for a PDF of the letter